Press Release
One of the most highly anticipated lightweight showdowns in recent years is set to finally take place as rising star Ryan Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) faces off against experienced contender and Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) in a 12-round battle for the interim WBC Lightweight World Championship. The fight will take place on Saturday, Dec. 5 and will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN in the U.S.
Information regarding the venue and the undercard will be announced shortly.
“For years, the world of boxing has been clamoring for a crossover star who can reach new audiences that have gone untapped for far too long,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “Ryan Garcia stands at the precipice of doing the same thing at an incredibly young age when he takes on Luke Campbell. While transitioning Ryan’s enormous social media following to DAZN viewers is good business for Ryan, Golden Boy and DAZN, it’s more importantly good for the sport of boxing, which needs a shot in the arm right now more than ever. For the next months, we are going to work tirelessly with our partners to promote this fight — by far Ryan’s biggest test of his career —which can catapult Ryan’s career to an entire other level."
Garcia is a 22-year-old contender who has quickly developed into one of boxing's most popular young athletes. Since joining the Golden Boy stable in 2016, he has steadily made his case for a world title opportunity by defeating the likes of "Ruthless" Romero Duno, Francisco Fonseca, Carlos "The Solution" Morales and Jason "La Maravilla" Velez. Since joining forces with renowned trainer Eddy Reynoso, the native of Victorville, Calif. has looked better than ever, improving his technical abilities and scoring knockout wins in his last five fights. But now, the toughest test of his career lies before him in Campbell, a man with whom he can prove definitively that he is championship material.
“I’ve been eagerly waiting to get back in the ring and have been working harder than ever to get here,” said Ryan Garcia. “It’s been a tough year for everyone, but I’m excited to bring the fans an escape for the night… or based on my track record, a few minutes at most. Luke’s record speaks for itself, but I’m ready to prove the doubters wrong. This is my era now and December 5th just the start of it.”
Campbell, a former WBC Silver Lightweight champion who took home a gold medal in front of his English countrymen in the 2012 London Olympic Games, is an elite fighter. Along with wins against Darleys Perez and former world champion Argenis Mendez, 33-year-old southpaw has been in very competitive fights against former unified 135-pound champion Jorge “El Niño de Oro” Linares and current unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko. Whether due to his experience or his skill, Campbell is confident he can break Garcia down.
“2020 has been an extremely tough year for everyone, so I’m really pleased we can finally get this fight officially on and give the fans something to look forward to,” said Luke Campbell. “There’s been a lot of talk and he’s clearly a very highly regarded fighter, but I’m going to prove that this is far too much, far too soon and that I’m on a completely different level. I’ve fought in America before, so this will be nothing new for myself and my team. Fans or no fans, the one thing I can guarantee is that I will be coming back to the UK with the victory. Training hasn’t stopped for me, and I’m going to be in peak condition to show something very special from Luke Campbell on December 5.”
“This is a great fight in what is probably the hottest division in boxing right now,” said Eddie Hearn, Managing Director of Matchroom Sport. “Luke is fearless in the challenges he takes and is ready to score a major victory in December against Ryan Garcia. Luke has been operating at the elite end of the division for a long time, and although Ryan is an exceptional young talent, I truly believe Luke’s pedigree and experience will be too much for him.”
Garcia vs. Campbell is a 12-round fight for the interim WBC Lightweight World Championship presented by Golden Boy in association with Matchroom Boxing. The event is sponsored by Hennessy "Never Stop. Never Settle" and “BetOnline - Your Online Sportsbook Experts." The fight will take place on Dec. 5, 2020 and will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN in the U.S.
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Armed with two desirable options, Ryan Garcia has chosen the path he prefers to travel.
Now comes the part of the involved promoters securing a deal to put this matter to bed altogether.
The unbeaten lightweight contender has accepted an invitation by the World Boxing Council (WBC) to enter talks for an interim title fight with England’s Luke Campbell. The fight was ordered by the WBC on July 1, with García—after discussing with his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions—agreeing to take part in the first of a series of lightweight fights sanctioned by the WBC.
“Golden Boy has confirmed Ryan Garcia’s participation in the fight [versus] Luke Campbell,” Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC announced on Monday. “Great tournament in the lightweight division.”
The two sides will have until the end of July to agree to terms for the bout, where the winner will be in line for a shot at reigning WBC titlist Devin Haney (24-0, 15KOs).
Matchroom Boxing represents both Campbell and Haney.
García (20-0, 17KOs) made his choice after spending the weekend pondering a path that would instead lead him to the World Boxing Organization (WBO) title currently held by Vasilily Lomachenko. The WBO announced over the weekend its plans to invite the top-ranked lightweights to vie for the mandatory position, officially ordering an eliminator between Garcia—the number-two contender—and Ghana’s Emmanuel Tagoe (31-1, 15KOs)—number-three—on Monday.
The declaration made on Monday evening now provides the WBC with the last of three fights it has blessed in the past few days. The Mexico City-based sanctioning body will have its “Diamond” title at stake for a clash between former multi-division titlists Javier Fortuna (35-2-1, 24KOs) and Jorge Linares (47-5, 29KOs), to take place August 24 live on DAZN from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.
Fortuna is already the mandatory challenger and was under the impression that a win over Linares will lead to a straightaway shot at Haney. The Dominican southpaw was originally ordered to face Campbell for the interim title before changing plans to instead face Linares.
Language from the WBC suggests that the winner of García-Campbell would be first in line for a shot at the real crown.
Meanwhile, an opponent still needs to be secured for Haney (24-0, 15KOs) whose title reign was restored via email earlier this year.
The unbeaten Las Vegas-based lightweight was on the shelf for six months recovering from shoulder surgery to repair an injury sustained in a 12-round win over Alfredo Santiago last November. At the time, Haney was due to honor his mandatory obligation versus Fortuna, before agreeing to vacate his title in exchange for “Emeritus” status which would guarantee a direct shot at the belt upon returning to the ring.
Fortuna and Campbell were first due to vie for the vacant title on April 17, only for the card to get canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Efforts to reschedule in the form of an interim title fight instead led the top two contenders to travel in separate directions.
Campbell (20-3, 16KOs)—a 2012 Olympic Gold medalist from Hull, England—has not fought since a 12-round loss to Lomachenko in their three-belt lightweight title fight last August in London. Among the slew of belts was the then-vacant WBC title, which Ukraine’s Lomachenko (14-1, 10KOs) exchanged for the sanctioning body’s “Franchise Champion” tag, leading to Haney’s first appointment as WBC champ.
García is the only one among the lot to have fought at least once in pandemic-stricken 2020. The 21-year old from Victorville, California was brief in his ring time, blasting out two-time title challenger Francisco Fonseca in one round this past February in Anaheim.
Had García chosen to move forward with talks for a bout versus Tagoe, it would have positioned the winner for a direct shot at the three-belt unification clash between Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12KOs). Should García abandon those plans altogether, Tagoe will be ordered to face the next highest available contender, which presently is Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk (13-0, 9KOs).
